Remember those ZMA adds from the 1990s and early 2000s that promised 30% more free testosterone by taking this highly bioavailable form of Zinc? Well, it turns out that ZMA only raised testosterone levels in those who were very deficient in it and only raised it to normal levels.
But new research shows that Zinc does boost testosterone a lot: but you need to take enormous amounts of it. New research suggests that taking 3mg of Zinc per kilogram of bodyweight resulted in about 40% more free testosterone after a few weeks. Also, the form of Zinc was unimportant but you need to take it without Calcium.
There is a problem with this: this is an absurd amount of Zinc. A 90kg(200 lbs) man would need to take an absurd 270 mg of Zinc a day to experience this testosterone increase. This is almost 20 times the recommended daily intake for Zinc. This amount will certainly result in severe health problems especially if you take this amount for months or years. Zinc in these doses inhibits the absorption of Copper and Manganese, and puts enormous stress on the liver. In fact, you will probably experience less side effects from just injecting testosterone than using this approach. So, the search for safe and effective testosterone boosters continue...
The effect of exhaustion exercise on thyroid hormones and testosterone levels of elite athletes receiving oral zinc.
Kilic M, Baltaci AK, Gunay M, Gökbel H, Okudan N, Cicioglu I.
School of Physical Education and Sports, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey. kmkilic@yahoo.com.tr
OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to investigate how exhaustion exercise affects thyroid hormones and testosterone levels in elite athletes who are supplemented with oral zinc sulfate for 4 weeks.
METHODS: The study included 10 male wrestlers, who had been licensed wrestlers for at least 6 years. Mean age of the wrestlers who volunteered in the study was 18.70 +/- 2.4 years. All subjects were supplemented with oral zinc sulfate (3 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks in addition to their normal diet. Thyroid hormone and testosterone levels of all subjects were determined as resting and exhaustion before and after zinc supplementation.
RESULTS: Resting TT3, TT4, FT3, FT4 and TSH levels of subjects were higher than the parameters measured after exhaustion exercise before zinc supplementation (p<0.05). Both resting and exhaustion TT3, TT4 and FT3 values after 4-week zinc supplementation were found significantly higher than both of the parameters (resting and exhaustion) measured before zinc supplementation (p<0.05). Resting total testosterone and free testosterone levels before zinc supplementation were significantly higher than exhaustion levels before zinc supplementation (p<0.05). Both resting and exhaustion total and free testosterone levels following 4-week zinc supplementation were found significantly higher than the levels (both resting and exhaustion) measured before zinc supplementation (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Findings of our study demonstrate that exhaustion exercise led to a significant inhibition of both thyroid hormones and testosterone concentrations, but that 4-week zinc supplementation prevented this inhibition in wrestlers. In conclusion, physiological doses of zinc administration may benefit performance.
SUCKMYMUSCLE
